BENHAM’S RICHES The Philippines is the only claimant to 13 million hectares of an undersea region that contains huge natural gas deposits.

The Philippines will gain 13 million hectares in additional territory, an area slightly smaller than Luzon, should the United Nations approve next year the government’s claim on a region off the coast of Isabela and Aurora, Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje said on Monday.

Paje said the undersea region, called Benham Rise, could turn the Philippines into a natural gas exporter because of the area’s huge methane deposits.

Studies conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the past five years indicate large deposits of methane in solid form, Paje said after a Senate budget hearing.

The government is only awaiting a formal declaration from the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (Unclos) that Benham Rise is on the country’s continental shelf and therefore part of its territory, Paje said.

Legal basis

Once the Unclos establishes that Benham Rise is part of the Philippines, “we would have legal basis to enter into exploration agreements with private companies to explore… (the area’s) resources,” said Sen. Franklin Drilon, chair of the chamber’s finance committee.

Drilon said a favorable Unclos declaration would mean “increasing our territory from present 30 million hectares to possibly 43 million” with the inclusion of Benham Rise.

Discussion over Benham Rise generated excitement especially after Paje said that Philippine representatives were just awaiting one more meeting “to answer questions” before a special Unclos committee.

Only claimant

Paje said there was no reason for the Unclos committee not to issue a decision favorable to the country “since we are the only claimant, unlike in the western side (where the Spratly Islands are).”

“We have submitted a claim under (Unclos) sometime in late 2008. We got a reply from the UN lately (asking us) to answer some questions. They intend to pass a resolution sometime in mid-2012 to approve our claim (that it is) part of the Philippine continental shelf,” Paje told reporters after the hearing.

Records showed that the Philippines officially submitted a claim with the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in New York on April 8, 2009.

Davide submission

Hilario Davide, then Philippine ambassador to the United Nations, filed the country’s partial submission with the commission.

The United Nations says the continental shelf is “the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea” up to 370 km (200 nautical miles) from the archipelagic baseline. An extended continental shelf goes farther than 370 km.

The Philippines claims that Benham Rise is an extension of its continental shelf.

Paje said Benham Rise was within the country’s 370-km exclusive economic zone.

American geologist

The environment secretary said an American geologist surnamed Benham discovered the area that was between 40 and 2,000 meters below the waterline in 1933.

“But we are able to define categorically that it is attached to our continental shelf only recently. We have proven (to) Unclos that it is attached. So now the UN is considering it for decision sometime in 2012,” Paje said.

He said gas deposits in the area would enable the country to achieve energy sufficiency.

“Benham Rise is very relevant because of its gas deposits (which has been) confirmed particularly by (the) National Mapping Resource Information Agency. It has given us the data that (the area) contains solid methane. We have not explored it but we have found nodules of methane in the surface and this is very important to us,” he said.

Kalayaan, Scarborough

The Kalayaan Island Group, which is part of the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, both located in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and claimed by the Philippines, are also believed to contain oil and natural gas.

Paje said there was the possibility that the country could export gas in the future.

The secretary added that there would be a demand for gas deposits in Benham Rise “because it’s much cleaner than (other) fossil fuels.”

The DENR formally submitted its proposed P16.99-billion budget for 2012 to the Senate finance committee.

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The chinks will again claim this area. Chinese will show proof, they had submitted “official” cert of claimants to Unclos prior 2008!!! These chekwa-geniuses can produce/imitate documents (official forms) as good as originals! You wont see the difference ! check it out !

i agree with agyang dirit and prangka. the chinese government are currently drawing up FAKE MAPS and using advanced technology to make these fake maps look authentic showing BENHAM RISE owned by LIMAHONG or some other dead chinese emperors.
china is the no. 1 country producing fake watches, electronics, gadgets, so I am sure they will also illegally produce fake maps.
CHINA CANNOT AND WILL NEVER BE TRUSTED !!
THE PHIL WOULD BE WISE TO ENTER INTO A GAS EXPLORATION AGREEMENT WITH ANY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY OTHER WITH CHINA !!

Anonymous

Umutot lang ang more than 1.3 billion tsekwa, may gas na sila.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2VLO53PRSSY76BZOWLOHJDM33M jeray

times of glory days d ba? sinu kaya hero d2

johnny ruedas

If the UNCLOS declare with FINALITY that the BENHAM RISE is exclusively belong to the Philippines, develop the area ASAP. The development of the area will not only help solve our energy requirements, it will also benefit economically our countrymen especially those who are recepients of Conditional Cash Transfer.

Anonymous

sana mapakinabanggan ng buong bansa ito. God bless our country.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GUZISWUMVDD5QJUC7GBJKEM7XA prangka

Makikibalisawsaw dito ang US for sure. But it is better than let China claim the whole territory.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GUZISWUMVDD5QJUC7GBJKEM7XA prangka

Who told you that there were no other claminants? Now that the world knows the rich natural gas underneath it won’t be long China would come up with old maps and xxx point dashes and claim it has another historical rights over the island.

Anonymous

wag muna tayong magbilang ng sisiw, di pa nga pisa ang itlog eh.

lucidlynx

well it is not about counting chicks before they hatch. it is more about taking advantage of opportunities.

ang existence ng gas deposits can only be confirmed by exploration. but initial findings say that it MAY contain gas deposits. paano mo talaga malalaman kung hindi mo ieexplore? hindi natin ma-eexplore na fully until the UN says it is part of Philippine territory. iyan naman ang sinasabi ng balita but you still had the gall to put it down.

i agree that it is not right to count your eggs before they hatch. but there is nothing of that sort in the news article. what sec. Paje said is based on studies already made. i don’t how these studies are made and how they arrive at such conclusions but i will take their word for it. we are not engineers. they are and i’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that they know what they’re talking about.

if we always doubt each other, there is nothing much to look forward to except being miserable all the time.

Very positive developments in the Philippines. Explore and harness every single resource within the archipelago and beyond for economic development and prosperity. Yes, Pinas is rich in natural resources! It’s just a matter of exploring and utilising them for economic gains. Hope the government will spend more time and effort in this respect. Di lang nauubos ang time nila sa pagbusisi sa mga katiwalian.

Never involve China or Taiwan on projects in this area. The Chinese could never be trusted. We gave refuge to their people from their own killing fields and they turn back and treat Philippines arrogantly. Never do any business involving natural and mineral resources with China.

Anonymous

These minerals eventually ends up in China no matter who buys it.

http://www.facebook.com/serge.imperio Serge Imperio

let the explorations begin !

Anonymous

Ours is ours, why do we have to ask from anybody.

Anonymous

Just so everyone knows it’s ours and that them trying to dip their paws into it will draw international condemnation.

Anonymous

Great. This would definitely boost up growth and development for the northern provinces, as well as that of the country as a whole. And hopefully, hindi na naman mangyaring ilang “family names” lang ang makikinabang na naman dito kung sakali.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_J43ET4QL22LBIX5RSSD2OS4ZD4 chavit

We are all govern by law, even in the seas (UNCLOS) and we have to follow it.
Ignorance of the law excuses no one.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OHOD5EA75DBBUH53UKLRXRK764 Mang Teban

Our country, the Philippines, is blessed by the Almighty God after all. This is the happiest news so far about our future to become a top nation in terms of generating revenues in energy.

That is not to say that we should abandon our claims in the West Philippine Sea. On the contrary, this should serve notice to China, most specially, that the Philippines have continental shelves within international laws of the seas and it should shame China that theirs is only a nominal claim – that which cartographers have inadvertently named the sea bounded by South East Asian borders of Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia as South CHINA Sea. Only in name, China claims the disputed islands.

If ever, then, we have energy resources on the West side and on the East side of the Philippines. Last time I have heard we also have a rich deposit of deuterium on the South side located somewhere South of Mindanao Island. Perhaps, God has also gifted us with an energy resource on the North side that should envelop our entire country with natural wealth to last for centuries on end. “With God anything is possible” – we must rejoice and be glad in it.

Anonymous

When I was with Al Misehal Company in Dammam, we had several magazines on gas and oil exploration. That was 1993, I have read that the Malampaya Field is the second largest gas deposit in the world. According to the article, the British Petroleum was unwilling to invest if the pipelines will not be shouldered by the Philippine govt.
So what’s keeping us from developing this natural resource to our full advantage.Let us all convert our bulk petroleum power plants with gas and all passenger vehicles with propane conversion kits. My uncle had his car in 1975 run in :Esso Gasul”…Thailand in 1980’s had their mini-buses run using ordinary cooking gas, those were pickup trucks that were hauling people including students from AIT in Bangkok. With regards to China, let us deal with them in non-confrontational manner. Treat them as customers but not business investors, very difficult to trust them. They will need our gas and oil. Let us do away with low-level conflicts because only arms and ammunitions suppliers benefit from such situation. NPA should go back to their families and the muslims should start accepting peaceful co-existence. They should learn that business does not mean smuggling or kidnapping for ransom. The squatters in metro manila should be employed to plant corn near the foot of the mountains and hills where they will be the guardians and care takers of young trees planted in the denuded water sheds and mountains. Some of them shall plant coffee and pepper while the rest will plant coconut trees and cassava. If you happen to see the rural areas in Thailand, cassava is raised from the edge of the highway up to the hils and mountains. In Northen Italy, your eyes can feast on grapes from the highway to the foot of the mountains. And the irrigation canal is full of clean water.

I’m worried that this will spark a “Dutch Disease” for the Philippines where exports of natural resources will make the Philippine Peso too strong for local manufacturers to compete with imports. And, no, increasing import tariffs will also strengthen the Peso and make the problem worse.

Ideally we should copy Norway and have an offshore account to store foreign currency for a rainy day. But, as always, here in the Philippines that money will just mysteriously disappear.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WYAZBOJYIUCRLWTYJBORBVTTOI boyfarmer

We better call the area East Philippine Sea to emphasize our claim

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VOXJ5L5YD7SD7HE7R5F7HBJKIE wil

Claim for what…for these politicians award the oil exploration to their cronies .. deja vu philippines

Anonymous

this is a very good development. however, my question is, how would we ensure that it is really the Philippines and the Filipinos who will benefit from this? Sana we should invest in developing OUR own technology to exploit this, not just to be dependent on the technology and capital of other countries, or corporations.

I like your comment. If you look at most of the comments here, it is tilting towards protectionism. We are so concerned about the perceived exploitation of our natural resources but accept the exploitation of our human resources (read:OFW) in other countries.

Anonymous

Somehow I get the feeling that even though this is good news, nothing will still come out of this and Filipinos will remain to be poor. Kung anumang biyaya ang meron dyan sa Benham, sa kultura at ugali ng Pinoy, malamang wawaldasin at pababayaan lang din natin yan. Katulad nung ibang mga likas na yaman na ibiniyaya sa atin.

the Malampaya field as mentioned by joseph ubaldo is a good find but as the same will happen to Benham Rise — foreign oil companies will take control and still leave the philippines poor and reliant to fuel importation. the philippine is only getting a mere 10% of whatever is harvested in the Malampaya field, so who gets the remaining 90%. the filipino people should not get exited at the Benham rise, philippine government is facilitating the work for multinational oil companies. the filipino interest here presented by government officials is being portrayed as a philippine interest on paper only.

Oo nga. Di ko ramdam na may pinagkukunan tayo ng natural gas near Palawan. I thought the Malampaya would help our country but instead, we are helping others.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WYAZBOJYIUCRLWTYJBORBVTTOI boyfarmer

Avoid China, China is a future monster

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KZAAB7HD25WF7UJIFY3RN6ITS4 ROMEO

The Philippines shouldn’t base its claims on the Spratlys and the Benham Rise on the alleged vast deposits of gas and oil but instead these areas are within the country’s exclusive economic zones and continental shelf. Whether these areas are mineral-rich or not, basing also on proximity, and vital to national security, should be defended from other countries’ intrusion.

Anonymous

I am afraid this would again make more corrupt Filipinos later on. However if this will come true this is teh blessing from God kaya I hope the Filipinos will know how to manage and make a living for the Filipinos…

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Z6HPSTDYBLLOW2AYSNNCMURFRA kkk

China: Benham Rise is part of China! sometime 1000 years ago, we have proofs that we traded goods 2000 meters below sea level

Anonymous

If you are talking ancient history is like Rome owned and governed egypt and etc. in Middle East before. You mean that country are still belong to Rome because they were belong to Roman Empire.It is like America was belong before to England. We have to open our eyes and mind that world changes and revolving and reshape the history and geographiocal pictures.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QSBNZB3TEKHJE5A74STZTTUHC4 ed0408

This should be explored by the Phil. gov’t. to be used as fuel for generating electricity and running cars so that we will be less dependent on world oil market. The Filipinos specially the poor should benefit from this rather than the foreign oil companies who are after their profits.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PBO77K6PXKPQKPQQQOFRCYNJFA ricky

the philippine government should learn from Norway… read it on wiki.

Anonymous

We did not gain it, it is ours in the first place. Not even the UNCLOS Council says that it is not ours. We are getting paranoid and dependent too much on international laws. Can we not assert our inherent rights? We need no declaration to emphatically state that Benham Rise is Ours, the location is unmistakably indisputable thus nobody is claiming otherwise. It is part of our eastern seaboard, why wait for UNCLOS declaration to explore it?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PBO77K6PXKPQKPQQQOFRCYNJFA ricky

the US might extend their arms/pressure on this if there is no certification from an international body. the name “Benham Rise” speak for it self. and how can you get a so called “private companies” as stated by drilon, if they don’t have a guarantee that no foreign entity will intervene.

PAJE seemed hallucinating of this Benham Rise…Paje is talking out loud of the GAS deposits WHILE logging is RAMPANT in the Sierra Madre area…It is not a SIN to go BIG thinking but our done is measured and start on small one?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PBO77K6PXKPQKPQQQOFRCYNJFA ricky

hindi kaya marami lang “gas” si paje sa katawan?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VFI4M3AMO5BIB4EZAD6W2UCIIQ Rastaman

With the number of OFWs we currently deploy to the mid east and other oil rich countries, I do think it is possible for the Philippines to take this exploration/expedition on our own… We DO need to have sophisticated and advanced equipment for this, we can always either lease it early on. For the expertise and know how, hands down our country has it…

We could just get some (as in a handful) of foreign consultants to assist us, but it should be strategically FILIPINO RAN. It just takes political will, and if the current administration is really for the MATUWID NA DAAN, then this is the time to prove it.

http://www.facebook.com/rpabelona Richard Pabelona

benhams oil? sanay mag ka totoo na upang yumaman na ang PINAS!!

http://www.facebook.com/samontehe Henry E. Samonte

Let us not entice our neighbors. Remember, Vietnam has dozens of the Flanker or SU-30, top of the line Jet Fighter plus Kilo Submarines and other military hardware. By opening our mouth, we are enticing our neighbor to grab more territory in our Kalayaan group of Islands. Why don’t we practice prudence and silence. The more our Presidential spokesperson makes irresponsible announcement, the more our neighbor will stick to their claim.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=692867206 Adrian Oreta

Hopefully this time around, the Filipino will earn more than that of the Foreign companies that will help in extraction of the natural gas in this area…sad to say, we export a lot of resources but why is it the Philippines cannot uplift itself when it is a global player in the export of natural resources like minerals and ores?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DFCGQJGVRL2LZ5AXO7MO2DVXFQ Delta

pssst. not too loud China might think it is part of it’s territory

http://www.facebook.com/lyndon.roque Lyndon Roque

I hope this time the Philippines and its people will benefit from this resources not just the politicians and the 0.5% already wealthy Filipino’s and their alien counterpart. People of the Philippines we should be more vigilant and actively participating with our government.

Wait till the stinking Chinese starts declaring that “this is also their territory”. These blowbrains really are simply like leeches sucking all other countries natural resources for their own benefit – just look at what is happening in Africa.

To all our government agencies – stop selling the Philippines and all its natural resources to foreigners – IT SHOULD BENEFIT US THE FILIPINOS FIRST AND FOREMOST !

http://www.facebook.com/leslie.hildebrandt Les Hildebrandt

Dont be fools and start exporting your only natural gas resource There will be a time when it will be your life line to cheep power and gas for your people ! ! !

Before we all get too excited and start spending all our potential earning from methane hydrate mining, please realize we are talking about something that has not been done commercially anyplace yet. Everything is quite theoretical so far. There are many such deposits around the world including off the coast of Oregon and Russia. Only 1 small commercial operation has been done in Russia. Japan is looking into it too. The mining process is complex and expensive.

Plus it is very deep. LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) is being pumped out of the Arabian Gulf at record quantities at the moment, but it took decades and decades of research and development. and water depth at the gulf is at 50 meters max. At Benham, you are looking at depths of up to 1800 meters plus. Might be easier to send a Filipino to the moon, using jeepney parts.

Counting the eggs before the chicken..Have the darn place authenticated first before making hallucinations about the rich deposit. Bear in mind we are surrounded by energy hungry neighbors. Before you know what hits you, Taiwan may claim it and then you have bigger problems because of your big mouth! Just keep cool and keep your mouth shut! When it is authenticated it really belongs to us, then light your cannons and shout to the whole world we are open for business!

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4VPMQML3T4Z3ERQIZUZLDNEPJ4 Gecko

Here we go again……Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers.

I just hope that if this good news come true that it will be the true Filipino people that will benefit on it and not some Foreign investor and hundreds of our own corrupt politicians.

If this project comes true, the government should think of lowering down our tax rates, and make sure the benefits should trickle down to the people. Greed of the rich should be watched out!

Anonymous

Greed of anyone who only want to receive and not work should be watched as well. The poor should be given opportunities to work to improve their lives, not handouts. The national infrastructure must be improved to facilitate commerce. Educational institutions must be increased to improve the level of technical and academic skills of our people. Most political activists should be ignored since the majority are parasites taking advantage of problems for their own benefit.

http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/LSC6LC55H5VT4O7223VVC7XD7A Maurice

If there is really gas, it will surely take another 7 – 10 years before it is extracted.

You have to find investors; working out the contracts, huge investments are necessary (see Malampaya); building the gas platforms (see Malampaya) etc….

Benham is very deep. LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) is being pumped out of the Arabian Gulf at record quantities at the moment, but it took decades and decades of research and development. and water depth at the gulf is at 50 meters max. At Benham, you are looking at depths of up to 1800 meters plus. Might be easier to send a Filipino to the moon, using jeepney parts.

Anonymous

Correct ka dyan!

Anyway, there are many onshore gas available in the country and cheaper to extract. DOE has already started promoting the extraction of these gases.

Anonymous

Jovybev is exactly right. Solid methane is mostly so deep that nobody has so far determined how it can be extracted. It is far to early to start talking about any great progress on these resources in the near future. When the technology is developed we will need international help to develop these resources.

another dream for the next life.. sa corruption lang sa Pinas.. wala rin.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5STEU22AD7YRHQSB6RE56ZDSYA J

Plant coconut asap… (:@)

Anonymous

Even if the Philippines acquired another 100million hectares rich in natural resources, as long as most of the government officials are corrupt who only think about themselves, there will still be no progress in the Philippines and most of the Filipinos will still remain poor.

the philippines will gain…? why? would PI’s actual land area increase? it’s a seabed and its been under our 200 EEZ area……

Anonymous

Wow! Natural gas. Another potential source of wealth for the country. Yeheey! yayaman na tayo. over 70 years ago the vast forest of Surigao and Agusan provinces was also declared potential source of wealth for the country. south koreans were even envious of our great resources. in less than 20 years those forest were exploited by investors. now the country is still the poorest and the laughing stock among our neighbors.

Yes we may have this (so called) gas deposits. But as long as we have the kind of leaders and bureaucrats that we now – we will go nowhere. Just imagine thousands of container vans missing at the pier, rice smuggling, behest loans, a whole ship (fully laden with rice) will evaporate from its berth and no hint as to its whereabouts until now, a leader who categorically says she cheated, old choppers sold as brand new (cheating), our leaders generally doesn’t have the moral ascendancy to lead people – meaning they are bad examples.

And then there will be no more OFW’s working abroad, Filipinos will become rich, each household will have maids from Gulf countries as their oil reserves are depleting fast, we will have family drivers from India, gardeners from Nepal or Bangladesh, security guards from Pakistan? Parang suntok sa buwan – but who knows?

For now maybe, but if the decline in the US and Euro economy will not stop, the great depression that befall in the US in the 30’s can happen again not only in the US but also in some countries of Europe. It is not remote then that maids can come from the west during that time. After all, there are Americans and British teens today working as babysitters to their neighbors.

Anonymous

ayos inday na kana or bitay(babaeng bitoy) :P…whoohooo

DU1VHY Jojo Vicencio

Teka tanung nyo muna sa China baka kanila pa rin yan.

Anonymous

The deutherium deposits (far better than gas) found on Philippines Deep (offshore) of Sama/Leyte, our govt didnt even bother to develop and now we’re xpecting this? Develop my as$!!!

Anonymous

As of now, there is no available technology & equipment to extract this deutherium deposits because its too deep.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WM5Q74FLETZKDLKWUX2OPDPMZA Patricia

naku po bat binunyag noh…yari tayo sa tsina nyan…

Anonymous

“The Philippines will gain 13 million hectares in additional territory, an area slightly smaller than Luzon said Paje”

If this is true, expect (some) politicians to be against the exploration of the said Natural gas deposits, especially if they won’t be showered by the contractor, but if they will be bribed with a good sum of money or be made stockholders, for sure will ALL be at the same flow. Protection of the environment should not be set aside as always.

“WITH THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF THE WHOLE WORLD, IT IS ABOUT TIME THAT WE HAVE TO ALL BENEFIT FROM THE MINERALS THAT OUR COUNTRY HAS”.

Studies conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the past five years indicate large deposits of methane in solid form, Paje said after a Senate budget hearing.
ARE YOU NUTS BELIEVING THOSE PEOPLE AT DENR?

to own Benham Rise is one thing, to own a rig or a facility that will extract its natural resources is another. we can invite investors to build their own here. the likes of BP, Chevron, Total, but we will not fully own them, it’ll be under binding contract on how those natural resoruces is extracted, imported, exported. these investors will have a big say regarding its supply distribution and pricing.

…or we can create our own. basically we have no budget to fully own a complete facility, we don’t have the technology for this. again, we will fall to build now – pay later scheme similar to what had happen in NLEX, SLEX and Skyway. investor build, Filipino people pay; senators add tax, investors will demand higher price that Filipinos pay due to inflation/market change/blah blah blah…

this is why you can’t stop people from thinking negative. this is already a business norm. capitalist and the corrupts prey to people who think positive because practically they only see the happy ideal life picture. for them , these positive thinking people are easy pickings, they love the reluctance to “negative what if’s”.

i doubt it, after the officials declared there is a vast source of gas in that area, other countries will start claiming it. they should have keep their mouth shut about the gas available in that area until they get approval from unclos. too much excitement sometimes lead to disaster.

Anonymous

for all I know, UN already declared that Phils is the only claimant of this Benham Rise and we just need to answer some of their queries as per Sec Paje :)..so wala na pong aagaw pa…so let’s all pray na sana sambayanang Pilipino ang totoong makinabang dito at hindi ung mga “WANG-WANG” na sinasabi…also, let’s all be vigilant :) have a great day

Anonymous

A. Why export the gas?

– China & USA has huge reserved of gas BUT they are importing gas/oil from Russia & the Middle East.

– Existing world oil production will deplete from the present 80 million barrels per day (mbbl/day) to 30 mbbl/day by 2020.

– Phils has more gas reserved in Palawan, Cebu, Bukidnon and other areas.

– Phils should conserve our natural resouces for future generation.

B. Politicians have very very very short visions …

– They want to export gas …. more income …. more temptations …. more corruption!

– They will forget the objective of “Reduction of CO2 Emission” due to the huge income that the country will generate.

If this pushes through i.e. that the Philippines will export gas in the future, I hope it will be for the good of the country, as a whole, and will not just benefit corrupt politicians and greedy businessmen. Philippines is blessed with an abundance of natural wealth, however, for some reason, there doesn’t seem to be any earnest undertaking to explore their potentials and to share the knowledge and resources with the rest of the country. It is high time we abandon crab mentality. We have to think as a whole if we want to be recognized globally. We cannot just bank on the OFWs, our great artists, performers and writers. We have a lot to explore and develop right from our own environment.

Anonymous

“Benham Rise, also known as Benham Plateau, is a 13-million hectare undersea region east of Luzon.According to study Benham Rise is 2000 meters below water line.Another
research notes the similarity of the shape of Benham Rise to the sharp
bend of the Luzon coastline, which suggests the sea floor’s resistance
to subduction (the process by which one plate on the earth’s crust is
pushed
downward beneath another plate because of collision) that may
have affected the Philippine fault.”

To add….Benham will surface from the bottom of the sea 1 billion years from now.

Patricio Licerio

even if we can harness this very valuable resources, with corruption in the philippines still rampant the country will still remain as it is

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YI3L5XSDE6CE5I32R7LGAS7AFI collison

It’s another media publicity. Can you not release news when the claim is already in the bag?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JL6Y7C7ZT6UDSLKWXZ5JV3AG2U Biostat

Ancestral domain. hehe.

Anonymous

With GPS, satellite mapping, radar, sonar used in locating vast oil deposits, no wonder, no oil companies are coming forward to offer oil explore in Benham Rise.
Reason….it is 2000 meters below sea, it is part of continental shelf, the foundation of earth.
It is good news that 13million hectares is added to the Philippines, the only problem is….this landmass beneath the sea will surface 1 billion years from now….a very good news indeed.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NBFRAN2S6D56AABGZ3NVIIICDY Max

remember 21 december 2012….philippines will be dislocated somewhere in the north pole????

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YIJ5STTOZSQTFMHYMBGUHJUJCM Bert

People don’t count on it, there’s no technology at the present time to tap this resources. In can pose more threat to environment when released to the air.

Filipino Mabuhay Ka

we have heard this for so long already, all the benefits it will bring, all that it will do>….. can we just get on with it…..

Anonymous

My suggestion on Friday, 19 August 2011 to our Muslim brothers were based on our historical events and facts that happened in our country. If you have an instinct foresight, what do you think is going to happened if Mindanao is separated to our country? Do think it will become better or it become more worse? I’m not NOSETRADAMUS, but this is the way, how I analyze the situation. Let’s always remember that weather we are Muslims or Christians we are under by the Philippine Constitution that’s how we run and even all countries in the world.